Back Story
The Life of the IchiGomi Twins It was raining that day. The rain came down in sheets, as if the ocean itself were falling from the sky. May 28, the day the twins were born. They born on a small, narrow house on the side of a mountain, overlooking acres of prairies and small farmland. Every night, torches would light up, leading to the top of the mountain, glowing in various colors. After learning that Ichi was born blind and Gomi was born deaf, their father left, but stayed in touch with their mother. He became a wealthy man, and sent very little money to help the family he left behind. When the twins were three years old, a man came from the nearest city, which was days away and where their father had lived, to deliver tragic news. Their father had been killed by a group of thieves, to whom he owned money. Their mother was grief stricken, for she still cared a lot about their father. Without the little money their father was sending, life was actually much more difficult. Their mother couldn't work, they couldn't tend to the fields by themselves because of how young they were, and they couldn't afford any food or to pay for their house. Eventually, when they were four years old, their mother had tried to save up as much money as she could and moved to the suburbs with her children. The city in which they lived was full of crime. Once the sun was touching the horizon, the twins needed to head back home immediately or else the people of the night would take them away. They didn't go to school, and their mother was working at a book store day an night to make sure her family could see the next day. When she was home, which happened very rarely, she would teach them how to cook, clean, read, and basic lessons on magic and magic history. After living in the city for four years, their mother became very ill. A doctor had told the twins that there was nothing he could do. She had overworked herself and her stress levels were far above average. Their mother, Ryu Ichigomi, died four days after the doctor came to visit. After their mother died, the twins remained in the house they had been living in and were trying to live off of what they had left. They set rules for each other, such as not eating every day to save food, only bathe when even the rats on the street would turn up their nose to you, and to only wear one pair of clothing every week. They wanted to save as much resources as possible, but it didn't last forever. When they ran out of food, they would search the streets for loose change to buy bread. When they had no water to bathe in, they would find a brook or creek to clean themselves in. If they outgrew their clothes, Gomi would try to make new ones, seeing how their mother got her started on sewing. Eventually, when they couldn't find any money on the street, when the creeks and brooks would dry up, and Gomi's sewing had tired her, they resorted to stealing. It started off being very little, such as taking an apple off the cart or removing a ribbon from clothes in the stores. They soon found themselves taking money out of people's pockets and taking china out of the shops to sell to a pawnshop. They knew what they were doing was wrong, but they couldn't find another way to deal with living in poverty. A group of thieves approached Ichi one day and said they'd like him and his sister to join their group. He wanted to say no, but they made an offer he couldn't refuse. "We'll pay you double for the value of your findings." They promised. Soon, the twins were not just pick-pocketing, but they were breaking into homes and businesses at night and taking as many things as they could find. Gomi got a thrill out of stealing and seeing how dumb people were to accuse an adult of doing their work, when it was really just two children. Ichi, however, wasn't happy with this lifestyle at all. He would leave behind a handful of coins whenever they stole from somewhere in hopes of the people having some money to recover from the damage dealt. Gomi saw Ichi doing this one night, and yelled at him. COULD YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THIS? She'd sign to him. She got so furious, she beat him with a wooden cane that was in the house they were in. He grabbed the cane, and used it to steady himself. [You know what, keep the cane! Seeing how you can't even keep our money.] Gomi signed furiously at him. Ichi was bleeding heavily from his head, but still walked away from the scene. The group of thieves they were with learned about Ichi leaving behind money, and treated him far worse than Gomi did. They had him starved, they didn't pay him, they wouldn't let him use the bathroom, they had him bound by chains and stuck to a wall in their hideout. During the day, they would beat him with everything they got. At night, they would eat and throw food at him, but he couldn't catch any of it because of his arms being bound above his head. This went on for three weeks. The only way he was surviving was because of Gomi. She would visit him when no one else was around and help him drink water. She would feed him occasionally so that the others wouldn't notice the lack of food. After Ichi's torture, Gomi stood up to the thieves and tried to attack them, but they were much stronger than she was. She was heavily beaten and has scars on her body that are barely visible from this encounter. The members of their group were paying them less and less even if they would find something worth a fortune. They would get into fist fights with Ichi and Gomi over the silliest and stupidest things. These fights happened very often, and the twins usually lost the fights. Eventually, the twins had enough. They took few of their belongings, most of them being magic books that they either stole or their mother left behind. They ran away to another city, one with far less crime than where they had lived. While they were traveling there, they would struggle to read the books about magic they had brought with them. Ichi was studying magic that would influence sound through wind while Gomi was studying magic that would influence vision through fire. They would combine what they learned and make up short scenarios of childhood stories and fairy tales. Six weeks after leaving the city of crime, they reached their new destination, Onibus Town. Once they entered, they heard people talking about a guild named Koma Inu. Gomi was asking people where it was but no one was willing to help her. Ichi had been sitting on a bench and listening to the people walk by, when he heard someone say they were heading to the Guild Hall. "Where's the Koma Inu Guild Hall? I'm new, and I'm interested in joining." He told the person passing by. "Good luck getting in, it's just down the street over there." The person said, pointing down the street. "I'm blind, sir." He replied. "Oh, uh, is it alright if I lead you there?" The person asked. Ichi didn't know if he should trust this person, and when Gomi had explained to him what he looked like and what he was carrying, Ichi relaxed a bit. They followed the man down the street and to the Koma Inu Guild Hall. They were able to join, and were overjoyed with the thought of being in a magic guild. Then, there was the issue of finding a place to live. They had stolen a large amount of money from the group of thieves they were with, and they were searching for the cheapest places in the city. They eventually found an apartment complex with three levels with six apartments on each floor. Though the place was crowded, there was an apartment that was available, but it was pretty much the basement of the building. They took it without hesitation, seeing how they weren't too picky on where they were going to live. While it was cold at first, they were very happy with where they were living. The other tenants were nice to them and give them food and clothes when they needed it. Everyone living there adored Ichi and Gomi, but had no idea about the life of torture they had been living for eight long years.